Clothes-rack.



PATENTED SEPT. 17, 1907. D. A. LEONARD.

CLOTHES RACK. APPLICATION FILED M10. 1a. 1906.

DAVID A. LEONARD, OF MORNING SUN, IOWA.

CLOTHES-RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1'7, 1907.

Application filed December 18,1906. Serial No- 348,490-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID A. LEONARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Morning Sun, in the county of Louisa, State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes-Racks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to drying racks for clothes, and has for its object the provision of a portable device of that nature which may be readily expanded for service, and folded up into compact form when not in use, the device itself being adapted to be placed against a wall or other support at a suitable elevation, besides being extremely simple and inexpensive.

The particular improvements reside, however, not in the rack proper, which is of the well known lazy-tongs type, but in the supports therefor, which latter consist in a pair of wire rods attached at their upper ends to the opposite sides of the rack proper and bent intermediate their ends to form front and rear parallel members connected by a lateral section, the last mentioned element or bend serving as a stop to limit the expansion of the rack members, the lower end of the front member being bent rearwardly and terminating in an eye adapted to fit over a bolt secured in the Wall, the upper end of the rear member terminating in an eye provided for a similar purpose.

Further improvements consist in the provision of a pair of screw eyes swiveled in opposite sides of the rack proper and adapted to slide up and down the front member of the corresponding support.

The invention will be readily understood from the following detailed description, and its preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated by corresponding reference numerals in the several views.

Of the said drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention, with the rack partly extended. Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmental view partly in section showing the cooperation between the swiveled screw-eye and the adjacent support. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view of one of the supports.

Referring more particularly to the drawings 5 designates the rack proper, which is of the lazy-tongs type, consisting of the end slats 6 and connecting cross-bars 7, which latter engage the several slats 6 at their upper, lower, and central portions, the ends of said cross-bars serving as pivots for the several parts, whereby the rack may be folded or expanded, as will be readily understood.

The upper ends of the slats a which, together with their cross-bars 7, form one member of the rear section of the rack, are provided with bolts 8 which engage the corresponding rack supports 9 adjacent the-upper ends thereof, while the lower ends of the slats b which form the opposite member of said rack section, have screw eyes 10 swiveled therein which slidingly engage the lower section of the supports 9 as afterwards described.

Each support consists, as shown in Fig. 3 of a single strip of wire bent to form a front or lower section 12, and a rear or upper section 11, the two sections being connected by a horizontal section 13 formed by a lateral bend in the wire intermediate its ends. It will thus be seen that the lower section 12, while parallel with the upper section 11, is set off slightly in advance thereof. The lower, or front section, is bent rearwardly at its free end as at 14 parallel with the bend13, the bend 14 terminating in a loop or eye 15 which extends upwardly directly below the rear or upper section 11, which latter terminates in like manner in a loop 16.

The screw eyes 10 which are swiveled in the lower ends of the slats b engage the lower or front sections 12 of the corresponding supports, as shown in Fig. 2, the wires which form said supports being first passed through said screw eyes and then bent to form the portions 14 and 15, or, if desired, the wire may be completely bent and passed into engagement with the screw eyes through openings formed therein. Said screw eyes will therefore move up and down the section 12 according as the rack is expanded or closed, the bends 13 and 14 serving as stops against which said screw eyes will contact according as they move in one direction or the other.

By reason of the fact that the lower section is off-set slightly in advance of the upper section, the space between said front section and the wall or other support from which the rack is suspended will be sufiicient to enable the lower ends of the slats b to move therein without contacting with and scratching or otherwise defacing the face of the wall or the like, the loop 16 at the free end of the upper section 11 being in practice slightly off set in the rear of said section for a similar purpose with reference to the upper ends of the slats a.

The several slats of the rack proper are preferably made of hard wood, while the supports 9 are formed of heavy steel wire.

What is claimed is:

1. A device of the kind described, adapted to be suspended from a Wall and comprising an expansible sectional rack proper; a pair of supports connected with said rack at the rear of the latter, each support comprising a single metal strip bent to form upper and lower members and a horizontal connecting strip to offset said lower member in advance of said upper member; and means mounted in the rear of said rack at opposite sides thereof, and slidably connected with the lower member of said supports, to permit said rack to be expanded or retracted, said means being movable with the rack proper into contact with said connecting strips, to limit the expansion of said rack.

2. A device of the kind described, adapted to be suspended from a wall and comprising an expansible sectional rack proper; a pair of supports connected with said rack at the rear of the latter, each support comprising a single metal strip bent to form upper and lower members and a horizontal connecting strip to ofiset said lower member in advance of said upper member; and a screw-eye engaged in the rear section of said rack at the lower end thereof and slidably connected with the lower member of the corresponding support, to permit said rack to be expanded 10 or retracted, said screw-eyes being adapted to contact with said connecting strips, to limit the expansion of said rack. In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID A. LEONARD.

Witnesses:

FRED COUTS, GUY J. ToMLINsoN. 

